Generally, spectacle frames have a front frame that holds lenses, a nose pad, and a pair of temples attached to the front frame. When the spectacles are worn, a temple end piece, at the rear end of each temple, bends down behind the user's ear.
However, the temple and the temple end piece are usually integrally constructed, where the temple end piece is usually bent downwardly at some angle, also known as a golf temple. The temple end piece is apt to slip upwardly when the user's head bends down or when the user is active, causing the spectacles will slip down the user's nose.
There is known in the art a temple end piece including an elastic or flexible member extending between points on the temple end piece, constituting a double-membered structure, such that the flexible member contacts the rear region of the ear between the auricle and skull and the temple end piece supports the flexible member. The flexible member may take the shape of the rear region of the ear by elasticity, and prevents the spectacles from slipping by exerting a constant rearward force to maintain the spectacles in constant position. The flexible member may be non-elastic but formed of a soft plastic, and may be formed to match the shape of the rear region of the ear, preventing the spectacles from slipping by restraining the movement of the end piece as the spectacles tend to slip up (U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,291).
There is also known a spectacle frame in which the temple end piece is itself an elastic member, and wraps around the rear region of the ear to provide a constant rearward force.
The prior art using a flexible or elastic member suffers the disadvantages that the flexible or elastic member may not have satisfactory strength or durability, and that a constant rearward force on the frame may be uncomfortable both on the bridge of the user's nose and on the rear of the user's ears. Furthermore, when a flexible or non-flexible member begins to counteract the slipping of the spectacles, the contact between the member and the rear portion of the ear may only be distributed over a small area, giving a feeling of pressure on the rear portion of the ears.